Catheters are used in a wide variety of minimally-invasive or percutaneous medical procedures. Balloon catheters having drug coatings may be used to treat diseased portions of blood vessels. Typically, the balloon is inserted through a peripheral blood vessel and then guided via a catheter through the vascular system to the target intravascular site.
In many proposed drug delivery balloons, the balloon is similar to balloons that have been used in angioplasty procedures to dilate a stenosed region of a blood vessel. Such balloons have commonly been generally non-compliant balloons that can be inflated to relatively high inflation pressures without rupturing the blood vessel. In many proposed drug delivery balloons, the balloon is coated with or otherwise provided with drug on its outer surface. When the balloon is expanded at the area of the stenosis, the balloon not only opens the constriction as in a conventional angioplasty procedure but it also delivers drug to the area that is dilated by the balloon.
Despite the developments both with respect to balloon dilatation and drug delivery, there is a need for improvements in treatment devices and methods.